Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)

Access to employment is a core universal human need and this is a given. We all need to have a sense of achievement, purpose and goal direction in our lives. This is foundational to all of us. The statistics on disability employment and what Mr. Hennessy outlined on entrepreneurship should really shame us all in this country. Related to this is the need not only to access employment but to progress in the workforce, to have career development and to be able to move in our careers. I want to ask the witnesses about this. Will they speak on what they think could be implemented with regard to supporting career development specifically as opposed to purely employment access? I ask them to mention anything about other countries that have a much better record in this regard then Ireland.